Karma III- The creator of your present and future

When I read this statement for the first time I did not understand its deep and hidden meaning. I wanted to understand what karma means and how it determine what happens to me. The journey of discovering the meaning of karma over the years made me refine my thoughts and actions.

Karma is an inventory of deeds you collect during your journey of life. Karma means “intentional action” and refers to the universal law of cause and effect. Karma is created not only by physical action, but also by thoughts and words.Just as action causes reaction, karma causes effects that come back to the original actor. Karma also tends to generate more karma that reaches out in all directions. We bear the consequences of the karma we create, but everyone around us is affected by our intentional acts as well, just as we are affected by theirs. Every birth is conditioned by a past good or bad karma, which predominated at the moment of death.

Deeds are of two types – good or bad and so is your karma. Good deeds/actions spring from selfless compassion, loving kindness, and wisdom. Bad deeds/ actions spring from greed, hate, and ignorance. All good deeds of a living being, though associated with the three wholesome roots of generosity, goodwill and knowledge (of not full of lust/desire, knowledge of bad act), are nevertheless regarded as good Karma. And all bad deeds of a living being which are full of selfishness and illwill are regarded as bad Karma because the two roots of ignorance and craving are dormant in it.

According to age old scripts, karma has been classified into four major types

Reproductive karma – Good karma

Supportive karma – Supporting Good karma

Obstructive/ Counteractive karma – obstructing good karma

Destructive – nullifying Good karma

Good karma is a collection of good deeds. Any good deed towards any living being adds to your good karma. A Living being could be as small and insignificant as ants or it could be as significant as your loved ones. Helping any being in distress add to your good karma. Doing no harm to any being, no ill will about any being, no lies, no stealing, and no unethical or illicit practices.

Bad karma is exactly opposite of good karma. If you are the reason behind any living being distress, you are collecting bad karma. Hurting someone for your benefit, ill will about someone, bad intentions, sexual misconduct, lies, stealing, unethical and illicit practices adds to your bad karma. Illicit way to acquire or satisfy lust/desire of colour, odor, taste and nutrition, sex to needs of eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body is a bad karma.

You collect blessings of living being with every Good deed you do. This blessing act as lamppost guiding your way through the troubled journey of life. They give you what you deserve and help you complete the journey and reach peacefully the final destination – The Death.

Conversely, bad deeds will collect ill wishes of living being. Every time you hurt someone, every single time a tear falls of someone’s eyes, you add to your bad karma. This bad karma will only lead to path of illusion and lot of suffering. Most people amass lots of wealth by hurting other people or by ill means, but they don’t realize that their bad karma will affect their off springs and in turn will affect their happiness and wellbeing.
Over several years, I have understood one thing that I will get good things if I deserve those things (things I deserve according to my good karma). So I just keep giving my best to everything I do. And I keep accumulating a good karma.

I would like to quote a line outside a graveyard – “Saab ki manjil toh yehi thi… Bass raste alag alag the…”(This was the final destination for all, only the paths were different)

Few more quotes

Everything is temporary in life… Nothing is permanent…

Root cause of all sorrows is desire – Buddha

So the secret to a happy and delightful life- No desires… No expectations… No attachment… No bonding… No dreams… Attachment and bonding with your blood relations is natural but when you attach your boding to materialistic things and collect bad karma for those things, the path leads to sorrow and suffering.